Liverpool's tightened rules on houses of multiple occupation (HMO) will not come into force for up to six weeks after the city's largest opposition group called in the decision, prompting accusations of political point-scoring.
Liverpool Council's cabinet approved new Article 4 Directions in more areas last week to ensure planning permission is secured before family homes are converted into HMOs. The new designation had been expected to take effect from today (Tuesday), but this has been paused after the Liberal Democrat group called in the decision, allowing councillors to ask the leadership to consider a different course of action.
Call-in sparks clash between leaders
Cllr Carl Cashman, group leader, urged the authority to include the entire city immediately. In an email seen by the ECHO, Cllr Nick Small, cabinet member for growth and economy, accused the opposition leader of not understanding or caring about the consequences of calling in the decision.
Under national permitted development rights, conversion of a home accommodating three to six people can generally take place without planning permission unless an Article 4 Direction is in force. Larger HMOs accommodating more than six people already require planning permission.
Areas protected and calls for city-wide action
Areas including Kirkdale, Everton, County, Walton, Orrell Park and part of Fazakerley are to be protected against immediate conversions. However, the opposition Liberal Democrats said the move does not go far enough and called on the authority to include the whole city immediately.
The new directions remove the automatic right to convert family homes and would require any proposed development to go through the planning process. It would not ban HMOs outright.
When the move was agreed by the cabinet, Cllr Hetty Wood, cabinet member for housing, said members would seek to adopt a city-wide approach next year. Cllr Cashman said this was not soon enough and was moving the problem "to new areas of the city".
Delays and accusations of political point-scoring
In his email, Cllr Small said while HMOs have a valid role to play in Liverpool's housing market, it is vital they are "properly regulated and managed". He said waiting 12 months before adopting a city-wide designation was to "future proof the policy, while managing the council's liability to potential legal challenge and financial compensation claims".
The City Centre North ward member said while he respected the right to call-in decisions for scrutiny, he felt the Lib Dems' motivation was "entirely about political point scoring and short headlines". He added: "I do not believe that you either understand or care about the consequences of this call-in.
"The immediate Article 4 direction was due to be in place today, but your call-in has now delayed that being implemented by at least four to six weeks." Cllr Small said this now gave "dodgy developers, cowboy builders and rogue landlords" the chance to convert family homes without permission.
He added: "Please don't play politics with people's lives, their homes and their communities."
Speaking to the ECHO, Cllr Cashman said: "We've called in Labour's HMO decision because we want an immediate Article 4 direction across every ward in Liverpool, not the partial scheme Labour has signed off. I don't want delay, I want protection for the whole of our city.
"I would happily pull our call in if I had it in writing from Labour that they will bring this in across the city immediately. Labour also aren't being honest about delays caused.
"It's within their power to call an extraordinary committee meeting within a week. Under Labour's plan, only a handful of areas are protected now.
"The rest of the city has to wait at least 12 months. That's a year-long window for rogue developers to convert as many family homes as they can before the rules apply.
"Labour could have protected the whole city straight away. They chose not to.
"Their own report says other councils have put their whole area under an immediate Article 4 direction, and that the risks are relatively low.
"This is a political choice."
